Ring guard having slotted ends



April 30, 1968 N. ASTOR 3,380,263

RING GUARD HAVING SLOTTED ENDS Filed Aug. 17, 1965 INVENTOR- Haj [7 4Mam/w Asme BY 4;; {a W1 ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,380,263 RING GUARD HAVING SLOTTED ENDS NathanAstor, Hidley Extension, Troy, NY. 12180 Filed Aug. 17, 1965, Ser. No.480,266 9 Claims. (Cl. 6315.6)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An attachment to reduce the effective innerdiameter of a ring including an arcuate length of a resilient materialhaving ends in coil form and slotted to receive sections of the ringtherein in a snap-on connection, the coiled ends simultaneously makingbearing engagement with the inner surface of the ring and extendingtowards the center of the ring against the finger.

This invention relates to a ring guard of the type useful in alteringthe effective size of a ring, and more particularly to a ring guardwhich may be attached by an individual without the requirement ofspecialized tools.

Detachable ring guards for ornamental rings are known to the prior artfor effectively decreasing the internal diameter of finger hole of aring. A ring guard is often used when the individuals ring is too largethus obviating the need for expensive resizing thereof. Ring guards aremore often used by persons having knuckles that are much larger than theremainder of their finger to preclude rotation of an ornamental ringabout the axis of the finger.

The ring guards of the prior art have many disadvantages, one of thembeing that special tools are often needed to attach and remove the ringguard from the shank of a ring. Another important disadvantage is thatthe ring guard must often be secured to the shank of a ring prior toinsertion on an individuals finger. This latter disadvantagesubstantially lessens the value of a ring guard, particularly for thosehaving large knuckles.

It is an object of the instant invention to provide a ring guard whichmay be easily attached and removed to the shank of a ring.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a ring guard whichmay be secured to and removed from the shank of a ring while the ring isupon the finger of an individual.

Still another object of the instant invention is to provide a ring guardmade of a material having a slight spring characteristic, such asstainless steel, gold, plastic, platinum and the like.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide a ring guardwhich is simple to construct, long lasting, easy to install and remove,and requires no maintenance.

A more specific object of the instant invention is to provide a ringguard providing an arcuate band portion to be juxtaposed to the shank ofthe ring having bifurcated ends forming a shank receiving slot boundedby a pair of slightly resilient coils or loops.

Other objects and advantages of the instant invention reside in thecombinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and features ofconstruction and operation, all as will be more fully pointed outhereinafter and disclosed in the accompanying drawing wherein there isshown a preferred embodiment of this inventive concept.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a ring having attached theretothe ring guard of the instant invention showing in dotted lines thefinger of an individual;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ring and ring guard of FIGURE1 taken along line 22 thereof and viewing in the direction of thearrows;

3,380,263- Patented Apr. 30, 1968 FIGURE 3 is another cross-sectionalview of the ring and ring guard of FIGURE 1 taken substantiallyperpendicular to the cross section of FIGURE 2 along line 33 of FIGURE 1viewing in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a partial side elevational view of the ring and ring guardof FIGURE 1 as may be seen from along line 44 thereof viewing in thedirection of the arrows; and

FIGURE 5 is yet another cross-sectional view of the ring and ring guardof FIGURE 1 taken along line 5-5 thereof and viewing in the direction ofthe arrows.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein like referencecharacters designate like elements throughout the several views thereof,there is shown generally at 10, an ornamental ring having a toroidalshank 12 to which may be secured an ornamental setting 14 such as mayhold a precious or semi-precious stone. Toroidal shank 12 has aninterior surface 16 of generally circular configuration receiving afinger 18 of an individual as may be seen in FIGURE 1.

Releasably attached to toroidal shank 12 of ring 10 is a ring guardmeans shown generally at 20 and constructed according to the teachingsof this invention. The ring guard 20 is preferably made of a materialhaving ornamental and spring characteristics, such as copper, silver,gold, platinum, plastic or any other suitable material. Ring guard means20 includes an arcuate band 22 having approximately the same radius ofcurvature as the lower portion of toroidal shank 12. Arcuate band 22preferably extends slightly beyond the edges of shank 12 as may be seenin FIGURES 2, 3 and 5. Accordingly, ring guard 20 may be made in varioussizes to accommodate shanks of varying degrees of curvature and ofvarying widths.

Ring guard means 20 further includes a pair of bifurcated endsdesignated generally at 24, 26 having a pair of substantially parallellegs 28, 30, 32, 34 forming a shank receiving slot shown generally at36, 38 having a first portion 40, 42 of lesser extent than toroidalshank 12 and a second terminal portion 44, 46 of approximately the sameextent as toroidal shank 12.

Legs 28, 30, 3-2, 34 extend generally toward the center of band 22 andare curved to form two pair of substantially parallel coils showngenerally at 48, 50 curved to form loops of decreasing diameter and towpair of smooth bearing surfaces 52, 54 for a pressure engagement withfinger 18 of an individual as may be seen in FIG- URE 1. It will be seenthat two additional pair of bearing surfaces 56, 58 are provided by theloops of coils 48, 50 and rest against inner surface 16 of ring 10 toprovide another means affixing ring guard 20 to shank 12.

One manner of securing ring guard 20 to toroidal shank 12 is byinserting shank 12 in entrance portion 40 of slot 36 and then forciblysnapping, as by pressure applied with the fingers, shank 12 intoterminus 44 of slot 36. It will be seen that terminus 46 and bearingsurfaces 56, 58 coact to retain ring guard 20 on shank 12. Band 22 maythen be manipulated to juxtapose entrance portion 40 of slot 38 adjacenttoroidal shank 12 and then snapping shank 12 through entrance portion 42into terminus 46. Since ring guard 20 is made of a material having aspring characteristic, each of arms 28, 30, 32, 34 will return to itsoriginal position thus retaining shank 12 in slots 36, 38.

When it is desired to remove ring guard 20 from shank 12, it isnecessary only to insert a thin metallic object, such as a table knifeor a letter opener, between bearing surface 52 and finger 18 of theindividual and pull outwardly with the thin metal piece. So doing willcam legs 28, 30 apart allowing shank 12 to be moved through slot 36 andout of entrance portion 40. Performing a similar step on the other endof ring guard 20 will release ring 10 from ring guard 20 such that ring10 may be readily removed from the finger of an individual.

As may be seen from FIGURE 2, it will be noted that ring guard 20 liessubstantially in a plane when viewed in plan with coils 48, 50 lyingsubstantially parallel thereto.

It is now seen that there is herein provided an improved ring guardhaving all of the objects of this invention and others, including manyadvantages of great practi cal utility and commercial importance.

Since many embodiments may be made of the instant inventive concept, andsince many modifications may be made of the embodiments hereinbeforeshown and described, it is to be understood that the foregoing is to beinterpreted merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A ring guard comprising a central arcuate band having a radius ofcurvature and a width perpendicular to said radius including twobifurcated ends, each of said ends forming two spaced apart arcuateportions providing means for securing said guard to a ring, said meansincluding a radially inwardly opening slot adapted to receive the shankof a ring, said slot having a first portion and an enlarged terminalportion.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said means provided by said arcuateportions include resilient coils each providing a smooth bearing surfacespaced from said band toward the center of said curvature, said bearingsurface facing toward the center of said curvature.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said coils include loops ofdecreasing size providing another smooth bearing surface, said anotherbearing surface being positioned between said first mentioned bearingsurface and said arcuate band.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said another bearing surfaces arespaced apart less than the extent of said enlarged terminal portion ofsaid slot.

5. The structure of claim 1 including an ornamental ring having atoroidal shank, said shank being received in said slot. v

6. A ring guard comprising a central arcuate band having a radius ofcurvature and a width perpendicular to said radius and two ends, one ofsaid ends forming two spaced apart arcuate portions providing means forsecuring said guard to a ring, said means including a radially inwardlyopening slot adapted to receive the shank of a ring, said slot having afirst portion and an enlarged terminal portion.

7. The structure of claim 6 wherein said means provided by said arcuateportions include resilient coils each providing a smooth bearing surfacespaced from said band toward the center of said curvature, said bearingsurface facing toward the center of said curvature.

8. The structure of claim 7 including an ornamental ring having atoroidal shank, said shank being received in said slot.

9. In combination, an ornamental ring having a toroidal shank, and aring guard including a central arcuate band forming bifurcated ends,each of said ends having two spaced apart arcuate portions forming asl0t,said shank being received in said slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 432,762 7/1890 OHara 63-15.6 X1,741,908 12/1929 Becker et al 63-156 1,754,392 4/1930 Levin 63-15.6 P.BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner.

